While adults are very vulnerable to identity theft in the United States, children are vulnerable too. And even more vulnerable is a certain group of minors: foster children. According to Robert Fellmeth, who teaches law at the University of San Diego, up to 30 percent of these children become victims of identity theft before they reach age 18 – which is usually when they find out about it.
This problem is so widespread that on September 30 a federal law was enacted requiring states to perform credit check on older foster children and to assist them if their identities are stolen so they can start their adult lives without the burden of bad credit. Sometimes these kids are victimized by members of the families they are taken away from, but sometimes the culprit is a foster parent or even an employee of the state-run organization that is assigned to help them.
According to Jim Langevin, a representative from Rhode Island who co-sponsored the law, â€We need to look after these young people in our care and make sure their credit is not abused. It’s our responsibility.†He said this after hearing multiple horror stories, including one in which a foster child was burdened with a $217,000 mortgage loan.
Foster kids may carry a bigger identity theft burden because there are fewer adults working to protect them or because their personal information is more available. Even kids that are not in foster care still have a more than 10 percent chance of being victimized, according to a study by Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.
It’s fortunate that many identity theft protection services include provisions to protect children. This can normally be piggybacked onto an adult’s plan for a very small sum of money. A child who has never applied for credit should not have a credit report on file, and these plans can help insure that it stays that way. What a terrible experience to have to clear your name – which could take months – before you can get that first car, apartment, or even job. Don’t let this happen to your kids or teens.